Apparently Microsoft can't win, despite changing their DRM rules

GameZone writes, "Today, for most gamers, felt like a win. It felt like finally, we were able to stick it to The Man. We actually MADE A DIFFERENCE! Microsoft, after many days of constant berating and disapproval of their new DRM structured Xbox One, has decided to listen to feedback, and completely get rid of DRM, allowing the Xbox One to function exactly like an Xbox 360."

Hammand is right if they were successful you really think Microsoft would care about a few ppl screaming Microsoft is a bunch of jackets walking around its like they're program to be dicks just look how they deal with problem the only thing on their mind is find ways to squeeze has much out of gamers has they can .

It was already #1 on Amazon before this news, Game, Bestbuy etc had reports of strong sales, this is clearly a case of micro overeacting too quickly to bad press and negativity. ....negativity due to lack of a clear message and not knowing about game sharing.

Ms don't care for the fan base since the launch of kinect. Xbone's reveal also proved that they still didn't give a shit...

Ms panic mode-" Bumba-clot! Game stop and amazon pre-orders dropping drastically?!?! Crap! We can't have that! We're gonna lose massive profits!!! Kill the DRM!! Change policies asap!!! But make sure the PR team makes it look as though we're listening to the fans for once;-)"

Sure xbone is now #1 spot on Amazon, but is it sold out like the launch ps4? Nope. Is it competing on its own against multiple ps4 bundle packs in the top 10. Yup.

Call me crazy but Iam seriously thinking of starting a petition to opt in to the "game sharing plan". I mean obviously this is a software limiting thing not hardware so is it possible to accept drm restriction and lock your console ID/Gamertag/IP or whatever forever so you CAN have all the game sharing features enabled but that disc licence code becomes useless= cant ever sell it and your console wont work if you're offline more than 24hrs. I don't know if they can but I dont see why its not possible. Guess it wont hurt to ask.

If people think used games was so bad for the industry, how would sharing w/ 10 people online not be bad for the industry? Keep in mind Sony already did this w digital PSN titles w/ the PS3, allow you to share w/ 5 other PS3. But, they changed it to 2 because people were abusing the feature and selling access to the PSN account online.

"M$ did this to get your business, and a share of your personal private life with Kinect"

nobody does this for love or favor, not even Sony or Nintendo, this is business.

MS was presenting a bad deal for consumers, the deal is now re-presented after some changes but negotiations are still on-going as far as Kinect and price. hope we can stick together a bit more to push for another change.

Dont be surprised if they can offer both in theory all they have to do is let you "opt in" during the first sign in of your console.

Id gladly give up the ability to sell used games(I dont sell my games now) and take the mandatory 24hr check(I honestly cant remember the last time I didnt have internet or it was down for more than a few minutes) just so I can have access to my library anywhere, dont ever need disc again and most of all share with my nephews in Virginia. Hey micro is a two tier Terms of Service agreement possible???

I just posted this in a xbox forum, I encourage every xbox fan to ask this, get some feedback, its not too late.

Yeah, thats the biggie for me, was never drm, its the $100 mandatory spycam. If they got rid of that and were able to shave off the price in the process, I'd get an X180 later down the line, after a ps4 still though. But Idc how cheap it gets as long as kinect is mandatory I won't buy it. And the truth is they won't make Kinect optional, that would be like if bluray had been optional on ps3, its just not gonna happen, and thus I will never get an x180. Whatever, Halo is probably the only game I'd play on it anyways since PS4 will be my multiplatform.. platform.

There you with the TRUTH, MS dont give a flying F__K about the gamers who are the ones who built the X BOX brand from day one. They have people who's only job is to maximize the potential of their products, like a drug dealer trying getting the most out of a bag of pure coke.

So what happened ? They saw the numbers going against their favor from the day the X1 was announced, So they said Ok after E3 we will see the tide turn in our favor. Unfortunately it only started to get worse, and after the latest round of X1 sale predictions came in below a certain threshold they went to plan B which I have no doubt was on the back burner from the get go.

When a company is looking out for consumers, DRM is not even part of the debate, unless the question is, "How can we create DRM without hurting the consumer?"

Microsoft's quick reversal damages what little trust I had left in them. Now, I feel they can flip-flop whenever they want, and there's no guarantee they won't do it in the future...with the same box. Because we WILL connect to the internet sometimes. We WILL download firmware updates. We WILL be in position to be hammered by the iron fist of Microsoft.

I would have had more respect if they had stuck to their guns and put in the effort to make their vision work. Now, there's no vision. And where there's no vision, there's no direction. And where there's no direction, there's no clear profit forecast. Where there's no profit, there are no investors. No investors, change of direction. And that's how we get back to another One-Eighty.

I actually had a friend tell me that they were going to buy an Xbox One until they saw all the news I was posting on Facebook about it. Then, he changed his mind, deciding to go with PS4. So speaking up certainly helps educate fellow gamers who aren't as "plugged in" to gamer news.

Now that the decision has been reversed, I'm not sure what he'll do, but at least he can be informed.

This is what I have been saying since the announcemnet yesterday.The preorders have been terrible,gamestop denied taking preorders from MS because of there used game policy.They only changed some of the policies to lure there fans they just shit on with this nonsense.Oh newmonday below sorry to break the news to you the preorders for the Xboxone havnt really moved up at all.If anything most gamers of all sorts made there mind up at E3 and after.Yesterdays announcement did nothing but show MS weakness,how greedy they are and how they cant be trusted.They will eventually will change back to there policies after the numbers look good for them you will see.I wouldnt be surprised to see all the fanboys defend MS now because there are like a herd of sheep who only follow one person in this case MS no matter what mistakes where made especially one that was going to ruin gaming for alot of people.They dont care about the damage that has been done because there eyes have been covered by some wall MS has built over the years.Only the real gamers can truely see what has been going on this whole time.

I think Microsoft have already proven they're in it for themselves. Sony have listened to their customers and the developers and made PS4 what it is now, which is great! That's what sets Sony apart from Microsoft, the ability to listen. Too little too late Microsoft...

What do you people think Sony would do if they had no competition? They would corner you and screw you! Sure some of what MS were doing was not the best, but do not be stupid (too late) and think Sony are for the people. Sony seized the opportunity to jump all over MS when they announced details, just good public relations spin, thats all. They are money hungry corporation too.... Thats why they created BluRay, why they tried to mess you with UMD discs, mini discs, and everything else they tell us we need to upgrade to. They will try push something again...tell you that you need it...

Hammad, i do like bluray, loved all ps's and both xbox's. but both are about money.... Sony does always try to push new technology, force it, so does MS. I understand peoples frustrations with MS, but do not be blinded by Sony. They did get arrogant after PS2, almost cost them.... But they will go full DRM too, could now be first... You never know.

Has any gaming company started off explaining why what consumers feel is bad is actually good because the ONLY WAY for the console to function is with the "bad". . . And then throw away the major parts of "bad" as if they never actually mattered?

Xbox One is made from the ground up for the power of the cloud. The exclusive games are ONLY possible because of the power of the cloud. Oh yeah. . . Never mind. We lied, but at least you don't have obvious DRM? Doesn't that make you happy, consumers?

Was thinking that too. But I don't think DRM is really gone. I'm sure they will have something in there still. Maybe just the online portion of the game. But I think the only online thing is still there for sure. They will force updates and the system needs to be online to start working so you still need an online connection. I just dont trust Microsoft right now. They are scrambling.

Games that take advantage of the cloud will require you to be online just like a multiplayer game. The 360 or PS3 doesn't require you to be online but you can't play COD or any other multiplayer game unless you're online.

This is so messed up. We lost all progress in the digital download business. We just got taken back 3 decades to an outdated business model that treats digital downloads as second class citizens and prioritizes physical media. No sharing/reselling/gifting of your downloaded games or online library. Put the disc in the system every time you want to play a game even though the disc serves no purpose other than local DRM checks. All convenience and progress thrown out the window.

@Kat don't back peddle unless you just like me saw some of the benefits behind the DRM console.

How come MS can't give us options to DRM, or not to DRM and still get the features? I have a stable connection so I would opt to DRM. If my net goes out how come I can't switch my settings to offline mode until it goes back up?

Obviously, to implement everything DRM related that was before this announcement meant things had to be a certain way, with the 24-hour checks....etc

To have the security checks in place with digitally/hard seems like, there have to be some trade offs, just as it was with digital DRM only.

Now, we loose some DRM benefits, at the cost of going back to last gen methods with hard copies.

All I wanted to do is switch games on the fly with the DRM policies which were set because it allowed it. Yes, at the expense of the checks, i feel like we need to move forward with DRM if it is here to stay.

Wrong Bitbydeath, explain to me then how do you allow retail games to be downloaded then shared digitally among only 10 people/ profiles WITHOUT online verification=24hr checkin, Steam allows you to play offline cause you cant share like X1 would have.

I don't understand what's your problem. The Family Share Plan is more limited than you think. There's no mulitplayer, and only one person at a time can play it. So it's not that great, and it's certainly not a dealbreaker if not implemented. Sony and MS PRs have confirmed that every game in retail stores will also be available on the Online Stores. So you don't have to touch a physical disc in your life, ever. Please, educate yourself. Go watch the actual E3 interviews.

Wow again you dont know what you're talking about, even if you download it WITHOUT 24hr checkin you canNOT share games anymore. That was a huge bonus Id much rather buy a game, let my nephews 3000 miles away check it out that same day after Ive played for a couple hrs, then easily with a friend or two, no waiting for a borrowed disc back, lets say I happen to be invited to a mutual friends house for a Bar B Q, I meet a few people, we talk about some games, he/someone hasnt played, he turns on his X1, I login let whoever check it out. We share gamertags join my family plan, we share different games from time to time and I never have to drive to his house.

I dont understand how people cant see how conveient this is, nah they'd rather just get ripped off by gamestop. Now I have to be limited for their sake.

The game sharing stuff was awesome but not at the expense of offline play and relying on servers to authenticate my sp games. Why can't ms just keep it as it is now but let the cool features be for XML members? Make a drop box for any digital game and let you run disk games into the box with a condition that whoever outside of you that plays it have a 24 hr check only for the shared titles? If someone fails the check the title returns to the original owner. Problem solved. Offline play, used games, but we still get progress with sharing and trading dd games. Best of both worlds. This way it's an option and peeps may see the benefit especially if they can choose which titles to share so if someone fails a check other titles are still playable. You can't jump that far without a transition period like this.

"This is so messed up. We lost all progress in the digital download business. We just got taken back 3 decades to an outdated business model that treats digital downloads as second class citizens and prioritizes physical media"

oh please. Speak for yourself. I'm sure if this was the other foot where it was Sony, you wouldn't be crying about being stuck in the past.

consumers have 1 less major thing to complain about. I was one of those very vocal against the DRM and now the Xbone is looking more attractive IMO!

can't believe some commenters here are actually upset about this and think DRM is the way to go! there's no DRM that's convenient to gamers and once you start accepting it, it will just get worst and by then, it will be too late if all publishers are already onboard!

To me, they could still add the DRM policies if people choose to personally OPT INTO the family share program or the friend share program, it think it dumb that they removed it completely, as it can still be a full-fledged, optional feature for people who would want to use it.

I didn't mean you could trade/resale steam games. I meant playing offline. You don't have to have a connection once the game is installed. M$ could easily have kept that feature.

I will admit that it's a cool feature, but I'd rather not have it and keep my used games buy/trade/borrow/lend abilities. Although M$ has taken that feature out, I can only assume that the 10 people listed were locked in once activated. So although it's a neat feature, you'd lose a really important option that I see as a far greater benefit. And once you locked in your 10 friends, what happens when you have an 11th friend that you wanted to include? Are they S.O.L, and what happens when tempers flare? You list someone that doesn't list you? Or you buy tons of games while others play off your purchases? You're going to get some pissed off people. If there was a simple way to add and remove people from the list of 10, than you could infinitely play any games by just randomly finding people online. IWith all the restrictions they had, I can't think they wouldn't have thought of this, so that list of 10 could cause a lot of anger in the Live community.

I guess what I'm getting at, is that the used game options are far better to have than the possibility of being included on someones list. Because personally I would make sure my friends with money put me on their list to reap the benefits, and so would everyone else. That would leave things very one sided.

I don't think they had much choice. Steam allows offline play and trading, so M$ just decided to take the 10 sharing partners away. But I could care less about that, I'd way rather have the ability to lend, trade and give away any of my games rather then designate only 10 people. That and it's something we've always been able to do, so why screw the M$ gamers over in the first place?

Why should they be given a free pass? These DRM rules were restrictions that THEY designed and that THEY defended for the last month. I wonder if the same people who said "hurr hurr how could Sony win E3 just by NOT doing something?" are showing up en masse to say the same thing about Microsoft.

While I think it's fine if someone now wants to get an X180 due to the change of some of the policies, I also think it's perfectly logical to still not trust Microsoft.

Kinect is next, hey if we managed to change this, we have the vocal power to do anything. Except world peace, hippies have tried that for decades but no ones budging but still...I'd say we keep going and get them to make some cheaper consoles without Kinect.

Cheaper console without Kinect = Killing two birds with one stone (The price problem and mandatory Kinect)

Honestly although I don't much like kinect for games I'm happy it's standard so we can finally see devs use it for small integrations instead of all motion or all game pad. It's convenient for the homepage and browsing and can be used for some cool stuff. Better than a ps move and last gen kinect that never got fully utilized. Def makes for a complete package and I'd take the extra hundred in cost vs fragmenting the market forever.